Losing Love
by Ichihime Kurosaki
Summary: Without an explanation or a goodbye. That is how he left. It was like he was never in their lives. When he left, he took more than just every one of his possessions with him. He took her heart. He took away her happiness and carefree attitude. Her bubbly aura was gone. He stole her smile. He robbed her and her beloved of her love. First fic. for SasuSaku! Rating may change.
1. Prologue: Disappearing Act

**Losing Love**

**Prologue:**

**Disappearing Act**

**Author's Note:** Hello! This is my first attempt at a SasuSaku fic. and I am really nervous. It is AU and I will try my best to keep everyone in character, but no promises. I am not new to the fandom, but I was just really scared to post for it. I love Naruto and it is one of my favorite animes/manga series. The best!

Anyway, please leave a review. Tell me if you like it and want me to continue! Or tell that you didn't care for it – just nicely. :D

_Add to your favorites list, follow, and review!_

**Disclaimer:** Naruto and its entirety belong to Masashi Kishimoto

Enjoy!

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**_~X~_**

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He disappeared. Without warning, without an explanation, and painfully, without any goodbyes; that is how he left. It was like he was never in their lives. Maybe he aimed for that, but who knew? When he left, he took more than just every one of his possessions with him; more than just the inanimate and replaceable - albeit some of them having value. He took **_her_** heart... her love. He took away her **_happiness_** and carefree attitude. Her chirpiness and bubbly aura was gone. It was as if the bubble had popped; as if her person had just vanished and evaporated into the clouds. He stole her smile... her laughter. He robbed her most cherished people of her affection… He left physically but remained mentally embedded in their minds. He was ingrained into their brains.

The question everyone had on their minds was **_why_**? Why leave when you have everything? What was the reason to leave _**them**_?

A wife and two beautiful children. He abandoned them…

A strong and fierce son, who had inherited a spit-fire attitude. His name was Akihiro. He was very smart and caring. An adorable child and then a handsome young man just like his father, when he was younger. His baby girl was three years younger than her older brother. A gorgeous, intelligent, and kind child named Amarante. She died from Leukemia when she was 11. It was a horrifically tragic incident… She struggled with the disease for a year and a half before it claimed her life. She fought valiantly but in vain for it was not enough… Her efforts were never enough… She had a strong heart and a weak body – that was why the doctors, her Kaa-chan, and Ojii-san never let her up from bed. She had strong will but a small and weak voice – that was why her parents never heard her pleading with them to stop arguing over their shouts. _**She**_ wasn't enough… Maybe that was why Kami-sama took her to a better place…

The man destroyed their happiness and didn't even care! He never looked back and he only came around when it was convenient to him… He used his wife and ignored his only child; his son. And if his son ever got sassy and disrespectful, he displayed an almost happy aura when giving an insolent response in return.

Akihiro always thought that his father hated him. He loved his mother but he wished she had decided to settle down with someone else. He hated his Otou-san and cursed the day he was born! Akihiro often took the blunt of his father's insults in colorful tongues and he silently brewed when his father said he was a mistake and a failure… How he hated his father. He'd even taken a punch when his father was drunk…

The worst thing was that Akihiro never remembered his father as the monster that the man was now. His father was protective, intelligent, strategic, strong, and loving. Now, he wasn't anymore… He used to love! Now… he didn't anymore. Akihiro sometimes found himself reminiscing about a much happier and simpler time in his family. His sister was still alive and his parents were still in love. He would think about how his father had brought home flowers every day for his mother and would shower her in kisses and hugs. He would take his family out and parade them around like a prize; a trophy! He was proud of them!

It hurt to remember those moments but it hurt even more when those memories became unfocused and blurry. They were usually followed by the night his father showed up out of the blue sky – drunk – and had forced himself upon his mother. When he heard her screams and protests, he ran downstairs and kicked his own father out after knocking him senseless.

The memories would always end in what he said to his father as he yelled at his father in the snow:

_"You ruined us, you know… Why? Why'd you do it? We were the **perfect** family. **We** were the ones others were envious of. **We** were a **loving** family. You ruined us! I don't love you anymore. I hate you… I. Hate. You… How does it feel to lose the love of a son? You bastard! Not just losing love; **you lost a son**! Don't you dare come back and touch her… You hear me, Uchiha?"_

But things were getting better… His mother had decided to start seeing other men again – having gone on dates with a man named Neji Hyūga from time to time; Akihiro was doing great in school and at sports. She had yet to file papers for divorce, probably still stuck in a fantasy or thinking that her marriage had not gone to the dogs. Akihiro didn't really mind anymore because he knew how much his parents had loved each other and how unique their love was. He knew that no matter how hard he tried, he wouldn't be able to dissuade her. Akihiro was still naïve and young – not having found the love they had to share with another yet. But he would still try to help her move on, because she deserved to be happy. Now they had evolved in a way; they cared for each other immensely and had developed a bond – a new form trust – with each other. _**He'd** _made such an impact on their lives that they could never truly move on, but they could try. They could pretend. They'd "_**recover**_" from the hurt, but there is saying, a saying that couldn't have been more accurate for the situation that goes like this: _'Things can always get worse. They can **only** get worse before they get better…'_

Did they truly not deserve_ 'better'_? How could things get any worse?

But it would seem that things could **_and_** were only going to get worse, for as Akihiro walked through the door of his childhood home and into the living room, he saw a scene he never thought he'd see again…

His father was passionately kissing his mother and had her locked in a tight embrace. Sakura clung onto him and poured all of her love into their kiss. The difference? Sasuke had opened his eyes to meet Akihiro's and Sakura's were squeezed shut. Sasuke smirked into the kiss at his 17-year-old son from his spot in the living room.

Akihiro was just standing there – dumbfounded. His father was back. Here at home. Sakura gave whole heartedly and Sasuke only waited for Akihiro to come home to witness this one moment…

_Bingo._

Sasuke Uchiha was home and he was intent on staying…

_Let the games begin…_

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**_~X~_**

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**Fin!**

**That was the prologue of Losing Love. This is my first SasuSaku fic. and I would appreciate feedback! Reviews are wonderful! **

**So, yes, Sasuke is a bit - or **_**a lot**_** - of an ass, but there is a reason and he will not be like that the whole story. **

**Please, no flames… :(**

**Mistakes will be fixed soon.**

**Questions? Comments? Concerns?**

**I.K.**


	2. Chapter 1: Welcome Home

**Losing Love**

**Chapter 1:**

**Welcome Home **

**Author's Note:** Hello! This is my first attempt at a SasuSaku fic. and I am really nervous. It is AU and I will try my best to keep everyone in character, but no promises. I am not new to the fandom, but I was just really scared to post for it. I love Naruto and it is one of my favorite animes/manga series. The best!

Anyway, please leave a review. Tell me if you like it and want me to continue! Or tell that you didn't care for it – just nicely. :D

_Add to your favorites list, follow, and review!_

**Disclaimer:** Naruto and its entirety belong to Masashi Kishimoto

Enjoy!

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**_~X~_**

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**_Two hours before Akihiro returned home…_**

Sakura Uchiha, though Akihiro had forced to her consider changing their last names to her maiden name, had been cleaning when her husband walked in…

The emerald-eyed rosette was in the process of making sure that the Uchiha manor was in its pristine condition as usual. She had, of course, been thinking about her missing husband. When would he show up again? Would he call? E-mail, text... **_something_**? Communication had been on her mind more and more lately because of a call she had received in the middle of the night earlier in the week; she had just gotten home from an extremely tiring graveyard shift at the hospital when her phone started vibrating in her pocket. Reluctantly, she looked at the caller-id and answered the anonymous call – which had made her a bit suspicious from the start. Though when she answered, nobody replied. Even after she had said "hello" multiple times nobody answered. She never mentioned the call to Akihiro – he had enough to deal with as it was. But it did implant the idea in her head that maybe her husband **_was_** calling and trying to communicate with them.

The cotton-candy haired mother and wife couldn't think of a reason for Sasuke's disappearance and why his visits were so very seldom; why the time was so scarce in between his trips back home. He had always been a busy man, with trips to work all over the continent and whatnot, but the Uchiha heir **_made_** time for family. It broke her heart to think that he would leave because he simply became bored with the life he had with them, or maybe he had found another more suitable to carry the Uchiha name. Perhaps they displeased him in some way? No, Sasuke, he always took them as they were. He actually went against his father, Fugaku's, word to marry her; yet, it could be possible that he had come to his senses and listened to his father. It all really started to go downhill after Amarante died, so maybe, just maybe, he felt guilty and left. They never did talk about what they felt after she died, so it could have been that he just got tired and couldn't face it every day. But they were all 'what ifs'. There was no actual concrete evidence to support her theories. The only one who knew was Sasuke and he wasn't there to answer.

A noise disturbed the doctor's thoughts – a sound that seemed to come from the front of the house - but when she walked into the foyer to check, there was nothing there. Akihiro wasn't due for another couple of hours and he probably wouldn't even go straight home due to soccer practice, so maybe she imagined it? She had been awfully lonely lately, no thanks to a certain raven-haired man – although it was more like a chicken's ass. Neji was nice company to have when he wanted to go out, but anyone could see that he and her good friend, Ten Ten, still had feelings for each other. She really only went out with him to make Akihiro feel good about seeing her "move on", but in actuality, she would never move on from Sasuke. He had been her first **_everything_** and a relationship like what they shared just couldn't be broken so simply. She refused to believe so! It'd kill her inside to think that their bond could be severed so easily. He loved her and she loved him. She'd never love anyone else - it was as simple as that. Never… But, **_maybe_** with time, she and Neji would become something more… maybe…Who was she kidding? That was as likely as Hell freezing over. No matter who she went out with, Sasuke would always be there – above them – in her mind and in her thoughts… in her heart.

Sakura laughed sardonically to herself as she thought about how quickly her thoughts could run rampant. That's most likely the reason why Akihiro had never left by herself.

The Uchiha matriarch walked back into the kitchen and screamed when a pair of warm, muscular arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her flush against a solid torso. A dozen roses presented themselves in front of her and a pair of lips kissed her cheek.

"Sa – Sasuke-kun?" Sakura stuttered, surprised – almost unbelievingly so – that her husband was standing in the kitchen with her.

"Hn… Sakura, it's been awhile," a deep, baritone voice spoke.

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**_~X~_**

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_Akihiro walked through the door of his childhood home and into the living room, to witness a scene he never thought he'd see again…_

_His father was home… passionately kissing his mother and holding her in a tight embrace… _

The 17-year-old Uchiha stared at the scene before him, just as his mother had when Sasuke turned her around to meet his eyes.

To say he was shocked would be an understatement…

His father… The man that had left them, the man that had meant the world to his family… he was back. And so many emotions were flowing through him. Initially shock, which dissolved into happiness. Then of course came fear and anger, so much anger.

The moment was so poignant, so emotional, that it could not be put into words.

Akihiro had imagined a thousand different scenarios to his father coming home. He thought of what he'd say to him after the two and a half years he had been gone. Would he explain why he'd left them in such a way? Would he even care? Could Akihiro even forgive him after all the pain and suffering they had to go through because of him? His mother especially… Akihiro knew that his father would never leave like that and so he was stuck with the question of _'why?'. _

Thoughts swirled around in his head at such a pace and the fact that his father was standing there, in the flesh, impacted him with such a force that he felt as though he'd faint. Tears welled in the corner of his eyes and his heart wrenched. Sasuke had been gone a total of two years, but it had been a year, three months, two weeks, and change since Akihiro'd last seen his father. It had been so long since he'd laid eyes on him and over a year… since he said **_those_** words. Surely, his father hated him. If Akihiro had any doubts of Sasuke hating him before, he was **_certain_**, absolutely positive, that Sasuke hated him now.

And after all they had been through, no matter how much he claimed to hate his father, deep down, the young man knew that he still loved and praised the Uchiha patriarch. His father was a lawyer and the heir to a multi-billionaire company. He was smart – incredibly smart - and Akihiro could recall all the times Sasuke helped him on his homework or when they would sit down on the couch after dinner and yell out the answers to questions on TV game shows. Sasuke was **_super _**athletic as well, always finding time to go workout, and making sure that he was in top condition to protect his family. He had been involved in multiple sports and clubs when he was in high school and college, but when he graduated, life took over and he stopped participating in his favorite activities. He held responsibilities at work and had a family to provide for – there was no time to go shoot hoops with Naruto or Kiba. Yet, he still found some time to go box with Kakashi or Itachi when they wanted to spar or when he was felt like he was letting himself go; however, when Akihiro begun his involvement in sports, Sasuke took the time to make sure he was at his best to help his son. There were times they would go to the soccer or baseball fields before lunch or dinner and spend countless hours perfecting pitching techniques or goal-making kicks. Akihiro thought that he wouldn't have been able to make some sports teams or captain if it hadn't been for his father. Sasuke was nothing but the perfect dad to Akihiro. He'd take care of his wife whenever she needed something, devoted as much time as he could to giving attention to Akihiro, and would even sit down to have a tea party with Amarante. Life had been great.

Akihiro might have said it was hate, but it was just anger and sorrow. He had never been a hateful person. He was very kind – not too kind as to where people could take advantage of him, but he was caring. The young Uchiha was known for his temper and stubborn nature, but more so when you did something he disliked. And above all he fiercely protected his loved ones; he was an excellent son to have. But those nights when Sasuke still lingered around in the beginning, before he permanently packed up and left, his words stuck. Failure. Mistake. They were the most common among all the adjectives used to describe him, but Akihiro used that as fuel to better himself more than anything. (Though dismissed it as the liquor talking anyway, so it wouldn't hurt as much.) He would be the perfect son to the perfect man. He was an **_Uchiha_**. A clan of prestige and the heir of Sasuke Uchiha. Akihiro Uchiha would make that known to the world.

The 17-year-old senior had only meant to come pick up a few things for soccer, not find his parents in a hot make-out session…but the sight wasn't as disturbing to him as it would have been to any other teen his age; it was actually a bit comforting. Maybe it had all been a dream after all and any moment now Amarante would come running down the stairs and fling herself at Sasuke, like old times, when things were simpler. Maybe the nightmare was over and he could let go of all his bitter anger and pain.

There was something that his soccer coach had said to him, a while ago when he had seen him pushing himself to the limit. It had been after a game, the first game his dad missed and the first game they lost…he said it was because Akihiro was angry. The anger, his coach said…

"_All the anger that you have pent up inside you isn't good… It's blinding you and you aren't thinking clearly. It's hard to forgive and forget, trust me, I know. But, it is easier to forgive and then move forward towards forgetting – because we never truly forget. The memories just become stored someplace in our brains, but it isn't healthy to harbor the memory and use it as a source of negative energy. Instead, you should take that energy that you're using to remember and put it towards forgiving. We can forgive, right?" _

It was too early – too soon – for forgiveness and Akihiro wasn't sure if he **_would_** be able to forgive his father, but he could work towards it if the man even planned on staying. Those bags by the door hinted a bit at Sasuke staying where he belonged, but one could never be sure. So, for the time he had him, Akihiro would strive onwards to the goal of mending – healing – their relationship. Then maybe he'd forgive him.

He wouldn't act out like what people saw on movies and TV nowadays. No, he was better than that. An Uchiha didn't do those things… right now, Akihiro would welcome his father home.

Akihiro swallowed the lump in his throat and blinked away his tears.

"Otou-san…"

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**_~X~_**

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**Fin!**

**This is my first SasuSaku fic. and I would appreciate feedback! Reviews are wonderful! **

**Please, no flames… **

**Mistakes will be fixed soon.**

**Questions? Comments? Concerns?**

**I.K.**


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